Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Rear Window, considered a classic Alfred Hitchcock mystery, reflects the social and ethical values of the 1950s when it was made. Characters drink and smoke frequently; the men often leer at pretty women; and the film is set in an all-white urban neighborhood. The theme of the film, however, has currency. It's about voyeurism -- spying on unaware neighbors, jumping to conclusions about those neighbors, and acting impulsively. One suspenseful scene finds the wheelchair-bound hero in physical jeopardy from an attacker who may be a murderer who dismembered his wife. A dog is found dead with its neck broken.
Sexual
Content
Many romantic kisses, embracing, cuddling -- no nudity or actual sexual activity. A ballerina, in scanty clothing obliviously frolics in her apartment as men observe her on numerous occasions. It is implied that a newlywed couple makes love from dawn till dark.
Violence
Several suspenseful scenes when characters get too close as they investigate a possible murder. One scary stalking sequence results in a scuffle during which the hero's life is violently threatened. A dog that the audience has come to know is found dead, its neck broken. After a crash and scream are heard, there's talk of possible murder and dismemberment.
Language
Not applicable
Social
Behavior
Mixed-messages. Though the ethics of eavesdropping and spying are topics of the characters' conversation in a number of scenes, the outcome eventually validates the act of eavesdropping and spying. And though the protagonist at times seems nosy, interfering, and is very much a Peeping Tom, the behavior is validated when he becomes a hero.
Consumerism
Life Magazine, General Motors.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
As was typical of movies made in the 1950s, there is an easy, unquestioning consumption of alcoholic beverages in various social situations: at dinner, while visiting, at parties, and while relaxing alone. Two minor characters are shown drinking excessively. Several characters smoke.
